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February 20, 2002
By
Veronica Mixon
Josh Hartnett is one of the fastest rising young
stars in motion pictures today. After small parts
in Halloween H2O, The Faculty and
Virgin Suicides, the 23-year-old actor
emerged as a handsome leading man in Pearl
Harbor. He showed his acting muscle in O,
an edgy contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's
"Othello" and as a jilted boyfriend in Here
On Earth. But, it was his most recent appearance
in the controversial war drama, Black Hawk
Down that sealed his status as a hot young
star.
When I met the six-foot-three-inch actor at a
luxury hotel in New York City, he was casually
dressed is worn, faded blue jeans and a polo shirt.
While a publicist camped out in the corner, Hartnett
laughed a lot and talked frankly about working
on 40 Days and 40 Nights, his enormous
popularity and dealing with his recent success.
THE INTERVIEW
All right, how long have you gone without
sex?
[Makes a face] I gave it a shot right while we
were doing this film. Right before we started
this film and as we were doing this film. I don't
know how long it was but it wasn't forty days.
Are we talking hours, days? It was actually a
couple of days.
So, what did you learn from this experience?
[Laughs] Only that I never want to do it again!
What did you do with the time - go fishing? I
had more time to work on the film.
Did you borrow the prosthetic from Mark Walhberg?
What prosthetic? Actually, the funniest thing
about that scene was seeing Michael London and
our first assistant director go into a sex shop
and pick it out. 'This one's not firm enough.'
They were playing with it. 'This one's a little
too big.' I was like 'wait a second, hold on!'
Did you have contract approval?
[Laughs] Yeah, my thing has be absolutely...
No, I don't know which one I had in my pants.
Did they have to apply it?
It was something they attached to a jock strap
and I got to apply it myself. Has your mom seen
this yet? My friend brought his mom to the screening
and she was really laughing. That's great. No,
my mom hasn't seen this. I'm sure she'll be very
impressed.
When you were growing up, what did you give
up for Lent?
I grew up to Catholic so I gave up chocolate.
But, I never stuck with it.
Are you excited about the Oscar nominations?
Black Hawk Down is such a huge hit and
it may get nominated?
Well, I think it should from a strictly artistic
stand point. The amount of work that Ridley [Scott]
putting those images on celluloid and what actually
came out of it is an excellent piece of filmmaking
and I think he should be recognized for that.
I don't - it's all up in the air.
What about personally? Would you like to be
nominated for an Academy Award for best support
actor?
Well, I don't think I deserve it, personally.
We all worked very hard but that's not necessarily
the key. The role was minimal. It took a lot to
do but it doesn't necessary mean that you're going
to get nominated. I appreciate the comment but
no, I don't think...
Did you enjoy jumping from this film to Black
Hawk Down because it was less physical?
I did this film, 40 Day after doing
Pearl Harbor and before Black Hawk Down.
And, while I was doing this and they asked me
to do Black Hawk Down, I said, 'yes, and
escape from comedy!'
Why did you do a second war movie after Pearl
Harbor?
I keep saying this and no one will believe me,
but Pearl Harbor is a romance and I'd never
explored the psychology of what happens in war
as an actor. Black Hawk was the first time
to explore that - no disrespect for the people
that have to do it. This movie, 40 Days and
40 Nights was a first for me too. I try to
do something different for each film.
Is comedy tougher?
Yeah, in a strictly - the filming process of
Black Hawk was difficult because of where
we were. The part of Morocco that we filmed in
was poverty-stricken and it was a really, really
sad place to be in. We're coming from this extremely
rich background and to go to a place where people
just don't have anything. They stand around all
day and watch us because there is no work. We
had the burden to do the right thing. I come from
Minneapolis where we have the largest population
of Somalian immigrates outside of Somalia and
my girlfriend's mother teaches English as a second
language. That was a tough movie to shot but as
far as the work goes, comedy is one of the hardest
things for me.
But, was 40 Days and 40 Nights a fun
set?
Yeah, but I was in almost every scene trying
not to screw up.
So, what was it so tough?
Because comedy is - it's hard to make people
laugh. I've never really tried before. The flower
scene was something different.
What are you doing now?
I'm taking a break. After shooting in Morocco,
I was pretty worn out.
What do you do to relax?
[Thinks for a second] Nothing! Sleep. I go home
and see my friends, family and my girlfriend and
take it easy. I live in Minneapolis. I've been
kind of fighting between staying in Minneapolis
and staying here {New York]. I don't really like
Los Angeles. When you're done with work, it's
so hard. You don't want to go back to a place
where all people do is talk about work! So, I
just go home and see my friends and family. I
write a little bit and I'm working on a script.
I was painting for a while.
Portraits or houses?
[Laughs] Abstract impressionism.
You're career has skyrocketed in a few short
years? Does it surprise you sometimes?
I've been extremely lucky as far as the business
goes and it's continued to roll. I haven't had
a lot of setbacks and I've never really had any
goals in mind - which helps. Some people have
an idea of who they want to come across in the
public eye and I really don't give a shit! Basically,
if I see a good role that I want to play, I'll
do it.
Is that the secret of your success?
It's a secret - to keep growing as an actor because
you've got to stretch yourself. I think success
in the business as far as like good roles and
monetary success- it's all luck, basically. It's
all luck! You have to be ready to take that road.
For a while, I wasn't sure and I skirted the edges
of it. When "Pearl Harbor" came along, I almost
didn't do it because I didn't want to deal with
the kind of fandom that came with it.
Why?
My personal life gets thrown into the mix. Everybody
wants to know what's going on into your life and
it's really no one's business. So, I just didn't
want to feel like a sinking submarine. I wanted
to continue to grow and I wanted to feel like
a healthy, happy person. Things are good. I'm
starting to deal with the image shit.
How do you deal with it?
Well, it's not you, it's that spot. They replace
you. There are so many different famous spots
to fill that they have to fill and so many different
people go through it. No one really cares about
you.
What kind of experiences have you had with
fame? Have any been truly bad?
Well, no. Knock on wood [and he knocks on the
table.] People have been really respectful. Hopefully,
just be smart. I'm learning how to skirt around
places where people in because I don't know what
I'll do.
Are you into Valentine Day?
Every day is Valentine Day to me.
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